I want to write about a few things like the slavery reparations movement, “critical race theory”, and USDA grants being prioritized for racial minority farmers all of which I think are wrong, but it can get complicated and there are some background philosophical stances I need to clarify first.
You are responsible for your actions.
This is, in modern international law, known as the Nuremberg Principle IV:
The fact that a person acted pursuant to order of his Government or of a superior does not relieve him from responsibility under international law, provided a moral choice was in fact possible to him.
You have a choice; you always have a choice.
(You may not like the options available, and that’s no fun, but you do still always have a choice.)
No one else can take on that responsibility for you.
This has an obvious corollary:
You are only responsible for your own actions.
No one else’s.
Everyone else is, just like you, responsible for their own actions. You cannot take their responsibility for them, just as they cannot take it for you.
This gets complicated when it comes to dealing with your descendants, for whom you do bear some responsibility; after all, you created them without their consent.
But in dealing with your ancestors (or even just randos that you have no relation to), you are not responsible for their actions.
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